Finally, tidy up around the outside of your home. Anywhere that standing water can collect is a potential breeding site for the mosquitoes. Turn over anything that might collect rainwater and get rid of junk that can turn into more than just an eyesore. It can become a public hazard.

Mosquitoes are one small nuisance that makes living in Eastern North Carolina slightly less pleasant. But they also represent real health risks. Those risks, though, can be managed by some simple steps that will leave us all better off.

Now that the weather has warmed up and we are spending more time outside — stay comfortable ... and healthy.

A version of this editorial first appeared in the Thibodaux Daily Comet, a Halifax Media Group newspaper in Louisiana.